Jackie Butler | 6-10 | C | McComb H.S. (McComb, Miss.)
Gary Ervin | 5-11 | PG | Notre Dame H.S. (Fitchburg, Mass.)
Travis Outlaw | 6-9 | SF | Starkville H.S. (Starkville, Miss.)
The Skinny: Outlaw is the hometown superstar. He's spent the past year making a transition to the small forward game, but he's a Kevin Garnett-type athlete. Think Jonathan Bender frame with more physical and athletic explosiveness. He's kept quite, but you heard it here first: Outlaw is a possible threat to make the Kobe Bryant-jump to the NBA next June. Regardless, he's a tremendous pickup for Mississippi State. Ervin, whose verbal is as shaky as today's stock market, is a very talented NYC point, who has really come on over the past year. A very good athlete with even better skills, Ervin can score when necessary and he's become quite at running a team. History tells us that MSU head man Rick Stansbury usually does get his man, so don't be surprised if Ervin keeps his word come November and winds up in Starksville. Butler, who has also talked extensively about making an early entry to the draft, is the big-body center who needs to spend a few years on the college circuit. He's talented, but he needs to improve his consistency and get more production out of all that potential. All in all, for this stage of the recruiting game, these are three very impressive pickups for the Bulldogs. If they can get 2 of the 3 to sign on the dotted line and suit up for the 2003-04 season, they'll be sitting pretty in the SEC.